Once upon a time, there was a fabulous teen librarian who liked to read and to cook about as much as she loved to travel, and nearly as much as she loved a case of the terribles and her crusty sidekick, Le Creuset...

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Crown jewel of summer 2015: The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

As we say in Boston, it is wicked hot this week, and there are roughly five minutes of summer left, so it seems timely to sneak in the ultimate summer reading book in right under the wire, right? Ladies and...okay, mostly ladies, please meet The Royal We. That I loved this book should come as no surprise to those of you who either know me or who have been paying attention. I’m deeply committed to the guilty pleasure found in bad movies, so when The Prince and Me came out some 13 years ago, I’d say I was predisposed to love it - and that was before I became a librarian. There’s a stacks smooch scene, duh. (See also: lawn mower racing, 796.1)

Chances are if you identified as female or were really into fashion, weddings, royalty, Britannia, and so on in 2011, you probably got up hella early (in my time zone or west o’me) and had tea and scones as you watched the entire royal wedding, all before heading into work where it was discussed and dissected in great detail, allllll day, amongst any and all women, young, older, younger, and older. It led to many a rolled eye amongst the male population at my American high school (but they totally loved the pictures of Pippa’s bum, just admit it, dudes). If you were in the UK, you were probably three champagne toasts in by the time I was vigorously debating lace detailing and flower girls with no less than three fifteen year old girls in braces, two secretaries and science teachers, an English teacher, and a custodian. It was a great unifier, so I hope you’re taking note, North and South Korea.

Remember how fun that was, you guys? We attended a wedding that we really didn’t, of a couple we all totally know but don’t, and then we broke it all down like sportscasters. SO FUN. Wills, Kate, Harry, Pippa, Pippa’s bum...I mean. Come on. The gossip game, like Kate’s hair, was on point, and the fairy tale aspect off the chain (trees in the cathedral! trees in the cathedral!). It was glorious.

And then we went on with our lives, unless say, your life involves a weekly post on royals ‘round the world on your terrific, funny, and highly readable blog, Go Fug Yourself. If you’re those ladies, you got busy writing about all the things we mere bush league players speculated about from the day the princes suddenly emerged from the palace ovens as total biscuits (scones?) and locked down their places in the glossy pages of teen magazines (you guys remember those glossy hand-held things we had when the Internet was potty training, right?).

Behold, the best book to happen to your travel bag, at least in 2015:

Rebecca Porter, an American student, has decided to spend her year abroad at Oxford University, away from her twin sister Lacey, doing what she’s always wanted to do: study Art History in a place where it’s a living thing. Bex is more of a baseball fan, and it’s her sister and mother who are the real fans of royal watching, so Bex fails to recognize that the guy who helps her carry her bags to her room is none other than British crown prince Nicholas, an error their floormates point out to her later over pints with him in the dorm pub. She throws herself into campus life, making new friends out of her floormates, and even starts a fling with one of them. Nick’s just a guy on her floor who shares in her insomnia and love of trashy paranormal teen vampire TV shows despite the fact that he sometimes appears on the cover of newspapers, and they strike up a friendship. But as the year goes on, it becomes harder to ignore they are increasingly drawn to each other and that there are some sparks flying, despite the impossibility in the coupling of a Crackerjack-loving Midwestern American exchange student on an expiring visa, and the crown prince of England. But we all know what happened next...or do we? With sassy, sexy siblings (call me already, Harry Freddie!), international passports, protocols, paparazzi, media scrutiny, and secrets they are desperate to hide, co-founders of Go Fug Yourself, Heather and Jessica, reimagine the Wills & Kate story for us in the most engaging, highly entertaining pseudo fan fiction I think I’ll ever read. It’s quite seriously the only thing missing from your bag as you pack for destinations more exciting than your work desk, fellow fangirls (and some boys). Dudes dudes, this one may not be for you, but it probably makes a realllly fun gift for a fun-lovin’ lady in your life aged 16 and up. Conveniently, it is also $3.99 on Kindle for the month of September...that’s the price of a sip of fancy coffee these days, you guys. Why are you still reading this and not The Royal We? Treat yoself to this one already!
PS. Here is your entire summer reading list from 2015.